Trump slams Woodward book as 'a con on the public'

White House staff concerned about President Trump's leadership have hidden documents from him to prevent him from signing off on certain actions, according to reports about an explosive new book from renowned Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.

According to Woodward, Mattis told staff to ignore a tirade by Trump against Syria's president Bashar al-Assad in the wake of a chemical weapons attack in April 2017 and the USA president's alleged statement: "Let's fucking kill him!"

The US president's senior aides are also quoted expressing fears that he could come across as a "goddamn dumbbell" and has gone "off the rails".

Trump did not understand the need for a special intelligence operation in South Korea that allows the United States to detect a North Korean missile launch within just seven seconds, versus 15 minutes from Alaska, said The Washington Post, citing veteran journalist Bob Woodward's upcoming book, Fear: Trump in the White House. He always knows where I stand and he and I both know this story is total BS.

Famed Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward has published a new book about President Donald Trump. "Let's go in. Let's kill the fucking lot of them", Trump reportedly told Mattis in a phone call. But the summary went on to say that "many of the president's senior advisers are extremely concerned with his erratic nature, his relative ignorance, his inability to learn, as well as what they consider his risky views".

Woodward's book also details that once, during a meeting with his national security leaders about the concept of diplomacy, Trump broke in with his unedited feelings about North Korea. Trump puffed up his chest to imitate former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and likened his former chief of staff Reince Priebus to "a little rat" who "scurries around". "Someone told it to him".

In the book, Woodward writes about Mattis and Kelly's frustrations about working with the president, at times defying his demands.

Woodward replied that his work would be "tough" but factual and based on his reporting. "But never once - never - did I think Woodward made it up", Mr Fleischer said. Luckily, because it's President Trump, "everyone's a victor!" According to Woodward, Cohn, who is Jewish, was particularly troubled after a swastika was found on the door of his daughter's college dorm room.

But Trump also criticized Sessions for his Southern accent, reportedly mocking it and saying of his own administration's attorney general: "This guy is mentally retarded".

Mr Trump allegedly said: "I've never seen a worse defence of me in my life". "He's this dumb southerner".

"I'm not going to sit there and let him look like an idiot", Dowd said, according to the book. "I'll just take the paper off his desk".

Mr Trump described the incendiary book as "nasty stuff", denying certain scenes occurred.

Woodward says: "I believe in our country, and because you're our president, I wish you good luck".

"In serving in this administration, the idea that I would show contempt for the elected commander in chief, President Trump, or tolerate disrespect to the office of the President from within our Department of Defense, is a product of someone's rich imagination", he added.